Old newspaper article on pennies

[Mat 2]

I know you all obviously know this already, however its still interesting to see what people knew about pennies in 1970! The fact it is mentioning pennies that were only 20 years younger than when this article was wrote makes me wish I was born in that era so I could have hoarded a ton of them while they were in circulation like freeman did!!!

[Red Riley 2]

I know you all obviously know this already, however its still interesting to see what people knew about pennies in 1970! The fact it is mentioning pennies that were only 20 years younger than when this article was wrote makes me wish I was born in that era so I could have hoarded a ton of them while they were in circulation like freeman did!!!

I remember it like it were yesterday... It was a great time for schoolboys like me to ferret through their loose change, but raities didn't crop up every 5 minutes - in fact most people that checked their change found sweet Fanny Adams, but there was always the chance. Perhaps the most interesting thing I found was an 1872 florin, but purely for its interest value, the only recognisable thing about it was the date! By 15 February 1971 there were very, very few Victorian pennies left in circulation, most having been withdrawn during the sixties as underweight. Nonetheless with the possibility of having no less than 5 monarch's faces on the coins in your pocket, currency was infinitely more interesting than today.

[Mat 2]

I know you all obviously know this already, however its still interesting to see what people knew about pennies in 1970! The fact it is mentioning pennies that were only 20 years younger than when this article was wrote makes me wish I was born in that era so I could have hoarded a ton of them while they were in circulation like freeman did!!!

I remember it like it were yesterday... It was a great time for schoolboys like me to ferret through their loose change, but raities didn't crop up every 5 minutes - in fact most people that checked their change found sweet Fanny Adams, but there was always the chance. Perhaps the most interesting thing I found was an 1872 florin, but purely for its interest value, the only recognisable thing about it was the date! By 15 February 1971 there were very, very few Victorian pennies left in circulation, most having been withdrawn during the sixties as underweight. Nonetheless with the possibility of having no less than 5 monarch's faces on the coins in your pocket, currency was infinitely more interesting than today.

I always wondered about that... when the old coins were still in circulation towards the end of the 60s what was the likelyhood of actually finding a victorian coin. Did collectors actually go to the banks and change £££ for bags of pennies in the hope to pull out some rare specimens?

[argentumandcoins 70]

I know you all obviously know this already, however its still interesting to see what people knew about pennies in 1970! The fact it is mentioning pennies that were only 20 years younger than when this article was wrote makes me wish I was born in that era so I could have hoarded a ton of them while they were in circulation like freeman did!!!

I remember it like it were yesterday... It was a great time for schoolboys like me to ferret through their loose change, but raities didn't crop up every 5 minutes - in fact most people that checked their change found sweet Fanny Adams, but there was always the chance. Perhaps the most interesting thing I found was an 1872 florin, but purely for its interest value, the only recognisable thing about it was the date! By 15 February 1971 there were very, very few Victorian pennies left in circulation, most having been withdrawn during the sixties as underweight. Nonetheless with the possibility of having no less than 5 monarch's faces on the coins in your pocket, currency was infinitely more interesting than today.

I always wondered about that... when the old coins were still in circulation towards the end of the 60s what was the likelyhood of actually finding a victorian coin. Did collectors actually go to the banks and change £££ for bags of pennies in the hope to pull out some rare specimens?

Being born in 1968 I don't remember it at all!!! I do get a reminder now and then from my old man about the day I half ate a roll of Pound Notes of his as a nipper though

Anyway, to get back to the point, as the only reference work on bronze at that time was Peck I would guess that the "common man" wouldn't have had a clue about varieties.

I'm sure some of the old guard on here will pounce on me and tell me I'm talking horse manure though!!!

[1949threepence 3,367]

I know you all obviously know this already, however its still interesting to see what people knew about pennies in 1970! The fact it is mentioning pennies that were only 20 years younger than when this article was wrote makes me wish I was born in that era so I could have hoarded a ton of them while they were in circulation like freeman did!!!

Yes, I wish I'd been born 25 or 30 years before 1978. I would have been regularly visiting banks and exchanging pound notes for 240 pennies to sort through. What a dream People who were around as youngsters in that era, are so lucky to have been part of it.

Incidentally, I have read other coin articles from the time, and have noticed the way they say 1926 modified head, not modified effigy, which is the way they are referred to now. Modified head actually sounds less pretentious. Presumably that was how they were generally referred to when articles such as that were written.

Edited July 18, 2010 by 1949threepence

[Peckris 579]

I remember it like it were yesterday... It was a great time for schoolboys like me to ferret through their loose change, but raities didn't crop up every 5 minutes - in fact most people that checked their change found sweet Fanny Adams, but there was always the chance. Perhaps the most interesting thing I found was an 1872 florin, but purely for its interest value, the only recognisable thing about it was the date! By 15 February 1971 there were very, very few Victorian pennies left in circulation, most having been withdrawn during the sixties as underweight. Nonetheless with the possibility of having no less than 5 monarch's faces on the coins in your pocket, currency was infinitely more interesting than today.

Not quite true - there were precious few bun pennies, but there was a ton of Veiled Heads, as witness the bag of 'em I used for weightlifting in the late 70s!!

I always wondered about that... when the old coins were still in circulation towards the end of the 60s what was the likelyhood of actually finding a victorian coin. Did collectors actually go to the banks and change £££ for bags of pennies in the hope to pull out some rare specimens?

Oh yes, we did! Or in my case, 5/- as that was the size of the bags of pennies from banks. And it was fun to look through them, though my haul wasn't that great to be honest. A handful of 1946 die flaw pennies (when no-one collected them) was probably the best I did. And one 1953 penny, rated much scarcer then than now. (I'm not counting Veiled Heads - they were as common back then as they are now).

Being born in 1968 I don't remember it at all!!! I do get a reminder now and then from my old man about the day I half ate a roll of Pound Notes of his as a nipper though

Anyway, to get back to the point, as the only reference work on bronze at that time was Peck I would guess that the "common man" wouldn't have had a clue about varieties.

I'm sure some of the old guard on here will pounce on me and tell me I'm talking horse manure though!!!

Pounce pounce! Actually Freeman came out that same year And Seabys did a great variation on their Standard Catalogue - a catalogue of base metal coins, plus tokens. PLUS, all the "Check Your Change" type booklets, which covered varieties (not always accurately - one of them listed 1860 as a rare date without distinguishing between copper and bronze!)

Incidentally, I have read other coin articles from the time, and notice they way they say 1926 modified head, not modified effigy, which is the way they are referred to now. Modified head actually sounds less pretentious.

Though interestingly, the guides all said 1926ME, so it must have been people writing for the wider public, assuming the WP wouldn't know what an 'effigy' was if it bit them!

Edited July 18, 2010 by Peckris

[1949threepence 3,367]

Incidentally, I have read other coin articles from the time, and notice they way they say 1926 modified head, not modified effigy, which is the way they are referred to now. Modified head actually sounds less pretentious.

Though interestingly, the guides all said 1926ME, so it must have been people writing for the wider public, assuming the WP wouldn't know what an 'effigy' was if it bit them!

I may be wrong, but I'm sure I once saw a "check your change" small paperback booklet from about 1968, at one of the the Midland Coin fairs, and it referred to "Modified Head". Although I suppose that was designed for the wider public.

[1949threepence 3,367]

I know you all obviously know this already, however its still interesting to see what people knew about pennies in 1970! The fact it is mentioning pennies that were only 20 years younger than when this article was wrote makes me wish I was born in that era so I could have hoarded a ton of them while they were in circulation like freeman did!!!

I remember it like it were yesterday... It was a great time for schoolboys like me to ferret through their loose change, but raities didn't crop up every 5 minutes - in fact most people that checked their change found sweet Fanny Adams, but there was always the chance. Perhaps the most interesting thing I found was an 1872 florin, but purely for its interest value, the only recognisable thing about it was the date! By 15 February 1971 there were very, very few Victorian pennies left in circulation, most having been withdrawn during the sixties as underweight. Nonetheless with the possibility of having no less than 5 monarch's faces on the coins in your pocket, currency was infinitely more interesting than today.

I suppose by that time the vast majority were reduced to little more than flat discs.

[Peckris 579]

Incidentally, I have read other coin articles from the time, and notice they way they say 1926 modified head, not modified effigy, which is the way they are referred to now. Modified head actually sounds less pretentious.

Though interestingly, the guides all said 1926ME, so it must have been people writing for the wider public, assuming the WP wouldn't know what an 'effigy' was if it bit them!

I may be wrong, but I'm sure I once saw a "check your change" small paperback booklet from about 1968, at one of the the Midland Coin fairs, and it referred to "Modified Head". Although I suppose that was designed for the wider public.

Just checked mine, and you're quite right : it does, and yes, that's probably the reason. I also checked the 1968 Seaby price guide, which says "effigy".

[scottishmoney 29]

Sorry guys, but here in North America it is possible to still find fairly old stuff in cent box searches. Boxes of rolls of cents are bought at the bank, they have 2.500 cents in each box. I buy the boxes because the older pre-1982 cents are worth 2 x face value currently and about 1/4 to 1/3 of the cents are older. The bonuses in the search are wheat cents that I have found dated from 1909-1958, sometimes older Canadian cents like George V and George VI. This last week I have searched through 5.000 cents and found a USA cent dated 1920, and my earliest Canadian this year, a 1932 George V. But my best find in the past few months, my earliest find ever is a 1901 Indian cent that I found in mid May during a box search. I would estimate over the past three years I have gone through approximately 400.000 cents and found only one Indian, but I am happy to find it and all the other assorted finds.

[Beebman 2]

I know you all obviously know this already, however its still interesting to see what people knew about pennies in 1970! The fact it is mentioning pennies that were only 20 years younger than when this article was wrote makes me wish I was born in that era so I could have hoarded a ton of them while they were in circulation like freeman did!!!

I remember it like it were yesterday... It was a great time for schoolboys like me to ferret through their loose change, but raities didn't crop up every 5 minutes - in fact most people that checked their change found sweet Fanny Adams, but there was always the chance. Perhaps the most interesting thing I found was an 1872 florin, but purely for its interest value, the only recognisable thing about it was the date! By 15 February 1971 there were very, very few Victorian pennies left in circulation, most having been withdrawn during the sixties as underweight. Nonetheless with the possibility of having no less than 5 monarch's faces on the coins in your pocket, currency was infinitely more interesting than today.

I suppose by that time the vast majority were reduced to little more than flat discs.

I was eight in 1969/70 when I started to take an interest in coins, mainly pennies because I could afford to keep them out of my pocket money! My late father owned a small shop and he let me go through the takings each night to look for anything interesting. As said elsewhere, Victoria Old Head pennies were very common (but not halfpennies, although I did find a couple). As for Bun Heads I found about eight over the course of the year. Only one was a completely worn flat disc, the others all had recognisable dates although most of the features and legend were well worn. The only one I found in anything like a reasonable condition was an 1892 example which was in a comparable state to the average Old Head of the time, i.e. clear legends in spite of heavy wear.

As for silver I never remember seeing anything pre-1920 apart from one 1919 shilling which I still have, it's in quite reasonable (maybe VG) condition which makes me wonder if it had been in a collection. My cousin was amazed at the time to find an 1874 halfcrown in his change which he gave to me (and again I still have it), it's worn very flat but the date is readable.

[Red Riley 2]

Not quite true - there were precious few bun pennies, but there was a ton of Veiled Heads, as witness the bag of 'em I used for weightlifting in the late 70s!!

I don't know whether there were regional variations, but in my area of West London, I must have seen no more than a couple of dozen well-worn veiled heads in the last two years of l.s.d. and perhaps half that of bun pennies.

I wish I'd been where you were!

[£400 for a Penny ? 0]

Not fair really, I spent the entire time when I could have been collecting pennies, away on Empire business.

Didn't get back 'til '74.

[davidrj 194]

I remember it like it were yesterday... It was a great time for schoolboys like me to ferret through their loose change, but raities didn't crop up every 5 minutes - in fact most people that checked their change found sweet Fanny Adams, but there was always the chance. Perhaps the most interesting thing I found was an 1872 florin, but purely for its interest value, the only recognisable thing about it was the date! By 15 February 1971 there were very, very few Victorian pennies left in circulation, most having been withdrawn during the sixties as underweight. Nonetheless with the possibility of having no less than 5 monarch's faces on the coins in your pocket, currency was infinitely more interesting than today.

I was there too!, buying 5/- blue bags of copper from the banks.

my limited resources had major competition, both from dealers and Michael Freeman - by 1964 he had removed 18,363 bun pennies from circulation.

[davidrj 194]

Michael Freeman - by 1964 he had removed 18,363 bun pennies from circulation.

I'm re-reading my 1966 version of Freeman's The Victorian Bronze Penny.

He mentions veiled head pennies with milled edges:-

1896 5 out of 4943

1897 4 out of 4297

1898 1 out of 2971

1899 19 out of 5688

1900 15 out of 6901

1901 16 out of 4533

my 1970 edition of his The Bronze Coinage of Great Britain mentions just

1896 F144 R18

1899 F151 R18

1899 F152 R18

1901 F155 R18

Is there anything in his later additions? No mention to my recollection in either of Gouby's books

I have a couple that are almost certainly fake - I'll dig them out and see if I can get a photograph

Anyone here know the story behind these? did the coins get sold? were they all dismissed as altered?

[scott 144]

no idea, i know 1901 is listed in the books, i have no idea why that would be either.

[argentumandcoins 70]

Michael Freeman - by 1964 he had removed 18,363 bun pennies from circulation.

I'm re-reading my 1966 version of Freeman's The Victorian Bronze Penny.

He mentions veiled head pennies with milled edges:-

1896 5 out of 4943

1897 4 out of 4297

1898 1 out of 2971

1899 19 out of 5688

1900 15 out of 6901

1901 16 out of 4533

my 1970 edition of his The Bronze Coinage of Great Britain mentions just

1896 F144 R18

1899 F151 R18

1899 F152 R18

1901 F155 R18

Is there anything in his later additions? No mention to my recollection in either of Gouby's books

I have a couple that are almost certainly fake - I'll dig them out and see if I can get a photograph

Anyone here know the story behind these? did the coins get sold? were they all dismissed as altered?

I had forgotten about this book in my last post on this topic Doh!

His 1985 edition makes no mention of the milled edge coins he had found, so I would guess he had discounted them by that time?

I have found a handful, with 1 or 2 from George V as well, interesting oddities that obviously took somebody some careful work to construct.

[Peckris 579]

Not quite true - there were precious few bun pennies, but there was a ton of Veiled Heads, as witness the bag of 'em I used for weightlifting in the late 70s!!

I don't know whether there were regional variations, but in my area of West London, I must have seen no more than a couple of dozen well-worn veiled heads in the last two years of l.s.d. and perhaps half that of bun pennies.

I wish I'd been where you were!

I was in Bristol, and the average grade of Veiled Head I found was between VG and F. I would have given anything to find some decent bun pennies! The few I did find - apart from the odd 1890/1/2 in VG - were pretty much flat discs.

[davidrj 194]

His 1985 edition makes no mention of the milled edge coins he had found, so I would guess he had discounted them by that time?

I have found a handful, with 1 or 2 from George V as well, interesting oddities that obviously took somebody some careful work to construct.

Thanks, never bothered to get a later edition so hadn't realised they had been junked

[Fubar 80]

I have what might be considered a pocketful of loose change from 1945.

Recovered from the site of a local bomber crash (Handley Page Halifax)that happened in April 1945.

It consists of -

2 x Halfcrowns - 1922

1 x Florin - 1922, 1 x Florin - 1923, 1 x Florin - 1930, 2 x Two Shillings - 1944

1 x Shilling with a young Victoria's head - date unreadable (almost smooth)

1 x Sixpence - 1920, 1 x Sixpence - 1922, 1 x Sixpence - 1929, 1 x Sixpence - 1944

1 x Brass Threepence - 1943

1 x Penny - 1918, 1 x Penny - 1930, 1 x Penny - 1938, 1 x Penny - 1940

1 x Halfpenny - 1905, 1 x Halfpenny - 1942, 3 x Halfpenny - 1944

I seem to remember having similair collections in my pockets although 15 years after this crash I was only getting paid ten bob for a full Saturday morning delivering grocery orders. So 18/9½d was quite a lot of money (about 18 pints of bitter).

Aircrew were not supposed to carry cash on ops so finding it was a bit of a surprise. All 7 crew died in the crash.

Edited July 19, 2010 by Fubar

[davidrj 194]

interesting oddities that obviously took somebody some careful work to construct.

These two must have taken hours of intricate work with a jewellers saw; why? ?apprentice pieces

fake milling

[davidrj 194]

I have what might be considered a pocketful of loose change from 1945.

Recovered from the site of a local bomber crash (Handley Page Halifax)that happened in April 1945.

It consists of -

2 x Halfcrowns - 1922

1 x Florin - 1922, 1 x Florin - 1923, 1 x Florin - 1930, 2 x Two Shillings - 1944

1 x Shilling with a young Victoria's head - date unreadable (almost smooth)

1 x Sixpence - 1920, 1 x Sixpence - 1922, 1 x Sixpence - 1929, 1 x Sixpence - 1944

1 x Brass Threepence - 1943

1 x Penny - 1918, 1 x Penny - 1930, 1 x Penny - 1938, 1 x Penny - 1940

1 x Halfpenny - 1905, 1 x Halfpenny - 1942, 3 x Halfpenny - 1944

I seem to remember having similair collections in my pockets although 15 years after this crash I was only getting paid ten bob for a full Saturday morning delivering grocery orders. So 18/9½d was quite a lot of money (about 18 pints of bitter).

Aircrew were not supposed to carry cash on ops so finding it was a bit of a surprise. All 7 crew died in the crash.

Interesting, but tragic story. Can you post some scans or are they all in grotty "as dug" condition?

[1949threepence 3,367]

I have what might be considered a pocketful of loose change from 1945.

Recovered from the site of a local bomber crash (Handley Page Halifax)that happened in April 1945.

It consists of -

2 x Halfcrowns - 1922

1 x Florin - 1922, 1 x Florin - 1923, 1 x Florin - 1930, 2 x Two Shillings - 1944

1 x Shilling with a young Victoria's head - date unreadable (almost smooth)

1 x Sixpence - 1920, 1 x Sixpence - 1922, 1 x Sixpence - 1929, 1 x Sixpence - 1944

1 x Brass Threepence - 1943

1 x Penny - 1918, 1 x Penny - 1930, 1 x Penny - 1938, 1 x Penny - 1940

1 x Halfpenny - 1905, 1 x Halfpenny - 1942, 3 x Halfpenny - 1944

I seem to remember having similair collections in my pockets although 15 years after this crash I was only getting paid ten bob for a full Saturday morning delivering grocery orders. So 18/9½d was quite a lot of money (about 18 pints of bitter).

Aircrew were not supposed to carry cash on ops so finding it was a bit of a surprise. All 7 crew died in the crash.

Interesting, but tragic story. Can you post some scans or are they all in grotty "as dug" condition?

Indeed. How did they come into your possession, Fubar, if you don't mind saying ?

[£400 for a Penny ? 0]

These two must have taken hours of intricate work with a jewellers saw; why? ?apprentice pieces

I think that could fairly easily be explained away by saying some jewellers apprentice was practising a new machine or something ?

[argentumandcoins 70]

Or maybe his wife was watching coronation street/eastenders/emmerdale on the night they are on for 2 hours solid and he had time to waste